Spears' sister defends teen pregnancy

The 20-year-old actress - whose sister is Britney Spears - has hit out at her critics four years after having her daughter, Maddie, with then-boyfriend Casey Aldridge, and she has apologised for "letting down" young girls who looked up to her at the time.

The former 'Zoey 101' star told Glamour magazine: "I was on a Nickelodeon show, and it felt especially embarrassing to ask someone to put me on birth control.

"I did feel responsible for the young girls and the mothers who I probably confused and let down. I apologise for that. But I wasn't trying to glamorize teen pregnancy."

But the blonde beauty has found it useful to lean on her 30-year-old sister - who has sons Sean Preston, six, and five-year-old Jayden James from her marriage to second husband Kevin Federline - for support while bringing up Maddie.

She added: "[Our bond as mothers], it's such a big thing, you know? Especially 'cause there's an age gap there - she's 10 years older. I think if I were just a normal 20-year-old, I wouldn't be able to relate as much to her."